


A new home

by alecxlightvood



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood Friendship, Family Feels, Gen, M/M, Parents Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Protective Alec Lightwood, Rafael Deserves Nice Things, Supportive Clary Fray, Supportive Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 13:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16893192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alecxlightvood/pseuds/alecxlightvood
Summary: Alec is out on a mission in New York when he finds something, or someone, he wasn't exactly expecting to find when he went out to kill some demons.or Alec finds Rafael when he's returning from a mission, he's alone and he's scared. What will Alec do?I'm bad at writing summaries please forgive me





	A new home

**Author's Note:**

> Hi angels!  
> Yep, I landed on AO3 finally!! This is going to be the first work that I post here, I'm hoping to be able to post a lot more fics in the future eheh  
> Also, english isn't my first language so please excuse me if you'll see a few (if not a lot) errors!  
> Also pt.2 I'm bad at tagging and at writing notes so I'll let you to read to the real stuff now.  
> Enjoy this chapter! <3

Alec was pissed off. No, Alec was mad. Yeah, that fitted way better.

Apparently the universe was going against him. Right now Alec Lightwood, as the Head of the New York Institute, should be in his office doing paperwork, in a comfy chair and maybe even with a lit fireplace.

Instead, he was running in the cold streets of Harlem under a particularly heavy storm that has been going on for two hours straight and that got him completely drenched from head to toe.

He was clenching his bow in his hand and keeping it near his chest, to prevent from losing it while running. He kept blinking rapidly as the raindrops were falling quite hardly on his face, making his vision blurry.

Be damned the Inquisitor and the Clave. He was in this annoying mess because of them. Why? Because they requested it.

Since the Clave had released a new training program in Alicante they demanded that “every shadowhunter who was still in training and who didn’t live in the Nephilims’ homeland will have to leave their institutes and come back to apply to the new training project”. The Clave has been adamant with the request.

So, the New York Institute as well as every other institute has been deprived of an important number of shadowhunters.

And to put the cherry on top of it, word must have gotten out and the chaos began. At first it was just some bickering between vampires and werewolves, then it went on with a few rough vampires stealing blood bags from a hospital.. situations that were manageable most of the times but then it got worse. Someone must have messed around summoning demons they weren't supposed to summon and right now they were flooding the streets of New York as well as a few other cities all over the world.

So the few shadowhunters that were still in their institutes had to be temporarily relocated where they were needed the most: Jace was currently in the Los Angeles Institute and Izzy was located in the Beijing Institute. Clary was the first one who was sent away in the Paris Institute and that happened two weeks ago, so she should be coming back in New York the next day if not in the early hours of the day.

As for Alec, being the Head of the Institute he couldn’t leave New York but he couldn’t just sit in his office doing paperwork either so he personally had to take some missions to cover the now free turns.

This whole situation irritated Alec in infinite ways but he couldn’t do a thing about it except praying for his family to be safe and sound and hoping they would all be home soon. He missed them, even Clary. But she didn’t have to know that.

Back to the present. Alec was running under the persistent rain, trying to reach a safe and dry spot. He found it under a closed cafe’s blinds.

He reached for his phone and groaned silently when the screen lighted up for a second only to die right the next. Dead battery.

“Great, better and better” Alec groaned and leaned his head on the cafe shop window. He closed his eyes slowly and exhaled. What was happening, he didn’t know. He did know one thing for sure though, and that thing was that his luck was not with him at the moment.

He had just finished a solo mission, one that got him sore as ever. A few downworlders reported that four shax demons were wreaking havoc in Harlem, attacking mundanes and downworlders as well.

When he arrived there he discovered that it wasn't just a bunch of shax demons, there were two other species of demons, resulting in a total of eight demons ready to attack every living thing that passed near them. Alec found himself outnumbered but kept his target on his mind and started to take them down one by one. He was one of the best shadowhunters of his generation after all.

At one point one of the demons almost ripped Alec's arm off but he managed to kick it in the chest and stabbed him in its core with an arrow. Thanks to his cold blood he managed to kill all of the demons, coming out of it with a few scratches and bruises that an iratze could easily heal. So in the end he found himself covered in black ichor, cold from the pouring rain, and sore as fuck.

He just wanted to go back to the Institute, write his report as quickly as possible, and return home to Magnus to have a hot shower and then cuddle with his boyfriend.

He was considering to stay under the blinds for a while in hope that the storm would stop soon, but decided against it. He took out his stele and activated the stamina rune and the speed rune. After that he restarted his run, while throwing mental curses at everything for his bad luck.

Thanks to his angelic speed he reached Manhattan in no time. But the effects of the runes were quickly wearing off and soon the exhaustion caught up on him.

Tired and drenched like he was just thrown in the sea, Alec kept running towards the Institute. He got off the main street and entered an alley to save some time as soon as he saw the familiar/known shortcut.

A lightning struck in the dark sky and for a moment it lighted everything up like it was the middle of the day. The lightning was quickly followed by a loud thunder that broke through the noises of the city. As soon as the loud noise of the thunder was gone Alec heard a little cry coming from a spot he just passed while running. He stopped immediately and turned around to where the sound was supposedly coming from. Alec looked over at a dumpster, figuring the sound was coming from there. He couldn’t quite decipher what or who was making the noise, so he kept his ward up while slowly making his way towards the dumpster, just in case.

It almost seemed like.. a child’s cry and it was making Alec nervous. Sure, it's not unusual to see a child alone in New York, when it's daytime. When the night comes, though, is quite different. It must’ve been something else.

Bow in hand and an arrow in the other, ready to aim and shoot at any time, Alec reached the dirty and smelly dumpster. Thanks to his runes he moved fast and stood in front of it. It wasn’t something that was making the noise, rather than someone. A little child.

Realizing he was standing in front of a child with a weapon in his hands, he quickly lowered his bow, not wanting to scare the child even more. The latter was currently staring at Alec, with big frightened eyes. He was curled up with his knees near his chest; his little hands were covering his ears, probably because the loud thunders were making him scared. He was shaking like a leaf, his clothes attached to his tiny body like a second skin from the rain. He was probably as cold as Alec was feeling right then, if not more. But at least he wasn’t right under the steam of rain thanks to a little roof arranged above the dumpster.

Not wanting to scare the child away, Alec lowered himself to the ground as though he was trying to make himself look smaller, and he slowly offered a hand to the boy, palm up. “Hey, what are you doing here?” He asked gently with a little smile on his face. What was the child doing in the streets of New York at night and in the middle of a heavy storm?

The boy ignored his question and kept his big eyes on him and his stretched hand, watching his every move, afraid of everything around him. Realizing the fear of the boy, Alec lowered his hand. He had to do something. He couldn’t leave him there all night, it was too cold and too dangerous. Who knew how long he’s been under the rain.

So he tried again. “I’m Alec, what's your name little one?” He asked gently again. He wanted to take the boy somewhere dry and warm. The little boy was still trembling uncontrollably and it made Alec’s heart shatter for him.

He was so young and so little. He was probably around 4 or 5 years old. Why was he alone? The question was bugging his head. But the boy was now looking at him with curious eyes, like he was trying to.. understand him? Maybe he didn’t speak English, Alec realized, as soon as he took a once over of the boy.

He had dark hair and dark eyes, his skin was pale but Alec could see it had a slightly olive tone. He thought for a moment before taking out his stele from his thigh holster. The action made the boy flinch, not expecting the sudden move. His eyes were glued to the stele Alec was now holding. Alec mentally cursed at himself for moving so fast, but his attention was quickly drawn again to the little kid, who drew in a breath and murmured something under his breath, still looking at Alec’s stele in fascination.

Then his gaze returned to Alec’s eyes and Alec saw as the boy was looking a little less scared. His little body was still trembling but his eyes weren't as concerned as they were a few moments ago.

Alec thought for a moment what to do and decided to do something he never did before, going against the law and following his gut: activating a rune in front of a mundane. He searched for his speak in tongues rune and activated it. “Can you understand me now, buddy?” Alec said and the boy almost beamed at hearing Alec’s words and nodded shyly. Alec smiled warmly at him trying to convey he wasn't going to harm him.

“Good. I’m Alec, what’s your name little one?” He asked again and this time the boy talked for the first time. “Rafael” he answered quietly, watching him with curious eyes. “I like it” Alec replied still smiling.

“What are you doing here all alone? Where are your parents?” He asked Rafael and noticed how the boy tried to make himself even smaller on the spot as he heard the question. “I don’t know, they left me here” Rafael said, sniffling. Oh boy, Alec thought. Was Rafael abandoned by his parents? “They told me to hide here while they fought the bad monsters” Rafael added, looking down.

Alec furrowed his brows when he heard those words. Bad monsters? It could’ve meant so many things. His parents could’ve lied to him, or maybe they were insane, or they could have been high on some drugs. Or.. but it couldn’t be possible. Alec thought about the possibility of the young boy of being a shadowhunter.

Then, it struck him. Rafael wasn’t surprised at all when Alec activated his rune and started talking Spanish, and he wasn’t scared when he saw the stele. Could he be really a shadowhunter? Alec didn’t know for sure, but he did know that he had to do something for the little boy.

“Can you tell me your parents’ names Rafael?” Rafael slowly raised his head and sniffled before answering. “Sara and Benjamin” Alec nodded and let out a breath. He tried to search through his memories those names, they were familiar to him. He vaguely remembered a fire message he received three days before from the Buenos Aires Institute, informing him that four shadowhunters were seeking refuge in the New York Institute after a heavy demon attack had taken down a huge numbers of shadowhunters. 

Alec had been expecting them to come to the Institute in the last three days but they never came. He had called the Clave a few times, asking if they had some news about them but they didn't have anything. He thought they just went somewhere else, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Before he could say anything he noticed something in Rafael’s lap. It was a wrinkled piece of paper. “Can I see what's in your lap Rafael?” Alec asked, his tone soft. The little boy looked at him and then at the piece of paper. He took it in his little hand and gave it to Alec hesitantly, without touching Alec’s hand. Alec carefully straightened the piece of paper and saw an address written on it. It was the Institute’s address.

Alec looked up at Rafael with a mix of shock and pain. He was definitely a shadowhunter. And he had no doubt now that Rafael was definitely one of the shadowhunters that were seeking refuge in New York. His heart ached for the boy and he was afraid Rafael’s parents weren’t going to come back to him.

Alec cleared his throat. “Hey, what do you say—“ Alec was interrupted by another very loud thunder that made both of them flinch. The next moment, without thinking, Rafael launched himself in Alec’s arms who caught him instantly. His little head was securely hidden in Alec’s large chest while his little hands were holding Alec’s shirt tightly, almost as he was afraid that if he wasn't holding tight enough Alec would dissolve into thin air.

Alec was startled by the action but found himself wrapping his arms around the little boy, wanting to reassure him and give him some warmth. “It’s alright, it was just a thunder. Don’t worry” Alec said to Rafael in a soothing voice while he slowly rocked their bodies on the spot.

Alec heard Rafael’s little whimpers and sniffles and knew he couldn’t leave him to anybody else. In that moment Alec made a promise to himself to protect Rafael.

Alec let out a breath and shivered. They were both freezing and needed to get away from the streets. “Please, I want to go home. Take me home Alec” Rafael sobbed in his chest and Alec almost whimpered. He closed his eyes for a second while he clutched Rafael closer to him. One arm was securely wrapped under him, supporting his little body, and the other was gently stroking the mass of his wet hair.

He lowered his head a little in order to let Rafael hear what he was saying. “I’m taking you home Rafael” and with that, he stood up with Rafael curled in his arms, his head resting safely in the crock of Alec’s neck, and made his way to the Institute.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update as soon as possible but exams are coming and so I don't have much time to write, but I'll try to manage to write when I can! So no promises on when I'll update, but know that I will.
> 
>  
> 
> Comments and kudos are highly appreciated <3  
> Let me know if you liked it! It would mean the world to me to see your feedbacks <3


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